Freshmen Boost Tolland Track

Notebook

Sometimes, a freshman or two will come out for a team and make an immediate impact.

Tolland's girls track team has seven. All qualified for the Class M meet.

"For a school our size, it's unusual," coach Corey Bernier said.

At Saturday's Randy Smith Journal Inquirer meet, Tolland won the medium school title but also had the most points in any division (134). The freshmen scored 44.

Kristen Schatzlein won the javelin, Kelsey Adamson was third in the 200 meters, Erin Connelly was second in the 3,200 (behind Glastonbury's Kristen Malloy, The Courant cross country runner of the year) and Allison Gallo was fifth in the 800.

The extra boost will help the Eagles Tuesday in Ellington at the NCCC meet, where they are the four-time defending champs. It will also help at the Class M meet June 3 in New Britain, where they will likely contend with Weston and Nonnewaug-Woodbury. Weston won last year, with Tolland second. Tolland won in 2007, with Weston second.

BASEBALL

High-scoring Avon (15-1) is No. 1 in the CIAC Class L rankings and No. 6 in The Courant's area ratings. The Falcons average 9.7 runs a game. The top two hitters in the lineup ignite the offense. Shortstop Scott Mancini's on-base percentage is .621 and second baseman T.J. Stolzenberg's is .586.

"It means so much for them to get on to get us going," coach Marty deLivron said. "With runners on, you can keep the pressure on the defense."

The Falcons have been solid in the field as well. "We've made only five or six errors - that's it," deLivron said. . . . Break up the Coughlins at Xavier-Middletown. Tom (4-3), a UConn-bound senior, and Shaun (4-2), a junior, aren't brothers. They've combined for all of the team's wins. "What's in a name? I wish I had another Coughlin," coach Rich Magner said. . . . Haddam-Killingworth's Steve Landell had 15 strikeouts in a 5-0 victory over Valley Regional-Deep River Monday, giving him 59 in 49 innings. He's 6-1 and 15-1 for his career. He'll play at Southern Connecticut next season.

BOYS LACROSSE

A tough early schedule has certainly helped Glastonbury (10-4). After losing two of their first four, the Tomahawks have gone 8-2 and look to roll into next Tuesday's game against Simsbury (11-3).

Glastonbury always plays a tough schedule, with losses this year to the SCC's Amity-Woodbridge, Cheshire and defending Class L champ Fairfield Prep. The other was to undefeated Medfield (Mass.). . . . Local points leaders: Cheshire junior Todd Heritage has been a menace all season, and is alone at the top of the points list published by maxpreps.com. Heritage is third in goals (52) and second in assists (44) for a state-high 96 points. His teammate, Nick Carisio, is the next local leader in goals (12th, 41 goals). Sophomore Matt Prezosio of Southington is 16th with 39 and Xavier senior Tyler Reid 24th with 35. Reid also has 35 assists, sixth highest in the state, and is 11th in points with 70. Teammate Brendan Woods is ninth with 29.

SOFTBALL

When Simsbury switched to the CCC North and started to play Southington, the Trojans could stay competitive for five or six innings.

"They would always find a way to win," Simsbury coach Jack Casey said of Southington.

But with a 2-0 victory Monday, Simsbury has now beaten Southington the last three times and twice this season. Simsbury's Kathleen Conway gave up four hits and struck out 13, and Simsbury's defense made the necessary plays to win. Simsbury (15-2) then beat Manchester 2-0 Wednesday to stay unbeaten in the CCC North with two conference games left. The Trojans' only losses are to Bristol Eastern and Bristol Central.

In 2003, Simsbury went 17-2 in the regular season and advanced to the state semifinals. With three games remaining, Casey hopes to better that record, so far the best in his 14-year tenure.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Jared Albert didn't plan on turning South Windsor into a top-10 boys volleyball program immediately after taking over as head coach before this season.

Though he still has a ways to go, the Bobcats (7-10) qualified for their first Class L tournament appearance since 2006 when they defeated Bloomfield in four games on Wednesday.

"We put in extra work over the weekend to prepare for this week with the state tournament in sight," Albert said.

Raghu Vaidyanathan, who had 20 kills against Bloomfield, setter Brian Albert and outside hitter Kevin Jones have led South Windsor, which had won four of six matches before losing to Fermi-Enfield on Thursday.

"I felt like in the beginning of the year, we were almost starting from scratch," said Albert, an assistant last year. "From working with the kids, you could sort of see them getting it as the season went on."

BOYS GOLF

Cheshire won its first SCC championship since 1997 on Tuesday when the Rams beat Fairfield Prep by six strokes at New Haven Country Club.